


And Leaves Were Falling Down

by dattumblrgal



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Autumn, Fluff, Halloween, M/M, Meet-Cute, a very cute puppy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 11:32:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12580908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dattumblrgal/pseuds/dattumblrgal
Summary: Harry’s loved Halloween ever since he was a child. His parents always used to go all or nothing with the costumes, decorations and candy. Well, if you grow up like that you either end up hating Halloween with your whole goddamn soul or loving it with your whole heart. Thankfully, Harry chose the latter one. Halloween for him isn’t just one day – it’s the whole October.OR - Harry loves Halloween and around that time, he finds someone else to love as well.





	And Leaves Were Falling Down

**Author's Note:**

> Hiii! Hope everyone's enjoying Halloween!   
> This is just a quick Halloween fic I just had to write. Zarry, fluff, a puppy and Halloween. What more could you want?  
> Enjoy!

            If Harry had to pick his favourite month, he’d pick October without even thinking about it twice. Most people usually choose their birthday month or one of the summer ones, even December is a frequent pick because of Christmas. Not for Harry though. October is when he’s at his peak. The weather allows him to wear his favourite clothes without sweating like a pig. School starts again and since he’s been in college, he’s happy to go back to class and study. There are crunchy leaves everywhere in the most beautiful colours and the sun has the loveliest warmth to it. He could name a million more reasons like the smell of air in the mornings, the pumpkin everything and horror movies. But one of the best things about October still remains Halloween.

            Harry’s loved Halloween ever since he was a child. His parents always used to go all or nothing with the costumes, decorations and candy. Well, if you grow up like that you either end up hating Halloween with your whole goddamn soul or loving it with your whole heart. Thankfully, Harry chose the latter one. Halloween for him isn’t just one day – it’s the whole October.

            And Halloween is his last thought as he’s packing up his camera when suddenly something attacks his leg. Before he can scream, he has half the mind to look down, only to find a Shiba inu puppy happily yapping at his leg, its small paws leaving slight dirt stains on his black jeans. Harry smiles, relieved the ‘monster’ trying to eat his calf is actually just an overly excited puppy with a stray orange leaf on its head. He couches down and pets its head, removing the leaf first.

            “And what’s your name doggo?” Harry coos at the puppy while scratching the dog’s ears. He sees the collar and thankfully, there’s a name.

            “Leia, hm? Are you a princess, too?” Harry questions the dog. She starts to lick his hand as if as an answer. Harry lets her get his hand all slimy, she’s just a puppy after all, and looks around for any potential owners. He doesn’t see anyone, just a few teens on a blanket, enjoying the last warm days and a couple of people walking around, none of them seeming to be searching for a dog.

            “You won’t tell me where your owner is, hm?” Leia just keeping smiling with her tongue out. Why can’t dogs talk?

            “Leia!” someone shouts. Harry whips his head up just as Leia turns around and they both see a boy, probably Harry’s age, not too far from them. Leia doesn’t seem to want to get to her ‘dad’, so Harry waves at the guy. Thankfully, he notices him and starts to walk to them with a relieved smile on his lips.

            “I guess you’re going home soon, Leia,” Harry smiles when she starts to lick his hand again. The guy finally comes to them, his breathing a little uneven as if he were running.

            “Looks like my dog fell in love with you,” the guy smiles as he crouches down to Harry and Leia. Harry mentally slaps himself for noticing it but the stranger is incredibly hot.

            “Yeah, I suppose so,” Harry chuckles. He should get Leia to stop licking his hand, before the stranger starts thinking weird things about him.

            “I’m Zayn, by the way,” says the hot stranger, “and as you already know, this is Leia. A very independent puppy.”

            “I’m Harry, nice to meet you and I would shake your hand if it wasn’t all slimy and gross.” Zayn laughs, the sound of it incredibly contagious and Harry can’t help but join. Leia then decides to switch her attention back to her owner and puts her front paws on Zayn’s knees, one on each and leaves similar paw prints that are now decorating Harry’s jeans.

            “It’s very nice to meet you too, I’m sure Leia more than loved getting to know you,” Zayn says without looking at Harry as he takes Leia’s paws in his hands and puts them down. Harry kinda falls in love with Zayn then, in the insignificant way you sometimes do with a stranger. Just someone nice, hot, just picking up groceries, holding the door for you or giving you a small smile when you accidentally catch each other’s eyes. In that moment, Harry’s a bit sad Zayn will join that long, long list of his “Starbucks lovers” as his friend once called it after Harry, drunk out of his mind, moaned about the most beautiful Starbucks barista in a city Harry was just visiting for the weekend.

            “I’m really sorry for her messing you all up,” Zayn says after a moment, Leia in his arms looking content with not running around anymore.

            “Oh, it’s okay, she’s just a puppy. She’s basically a baby. You wouldn’t expect a toddler to know how not to droll all over someone,” Harry shrugs after he stands up and tries to brush off the dirt Leia got on him.

            “I guess but still. Would like to get coffee maybe? You could wash your hands and then we can introduce ourselves properly, no slimy hands in sight,” a slight blush appears on Zayn’s cheeks as if he were scared that Harry would say no. If he could read minds, he’d know that Harry’s trying his hardest not to screech with excitement.

            “I’d love to. Lead the way then.” Harry can’t wipe the grin of his face. And if luck is on his side today, Zayn won’t be joining the strangers on his “Starbucks lovers” list after all.

;

            They walk to a café nearby, one that still has tables outside and allows dogs. It takes them under five minutes to get there, which they spend talking mainly about how warm it is outside and fondly making fun of Leia for falling asleep in Zayn’s arms. When they get to the café, Harry goes to the bathroom, finally washes Leia’s droll from his hands (although once she wakes up, it will be all in vain) and tries to make his hair not to look like an old mop. Or as if a sparrow died in it and was in the middle of decomposing. For a hot second he considers putting it all up in a bun before he scraps that idea. His flirting techniques work way much better when his hair is brushing his shoulders.

            He finds Zayn and Leia already outside with two paper cups of coffee on the table. Harry smiles when he sees Leia starfished on one of the chairs, still sleeping soundly, only one of her ears twitching here or there. Harry’s pretty damn sure that Leia is the most adorable puppy he’s ever seen.

            “Pumpkin spice?” Harry asks when he sits down, already taking the paper mug in his hands.

            “Pumpkin spice,” Zayn says with a laugh. Harry takes a sip of his coffee and yes, Halloween sure is next week. The distinct taste of a good PSL is undeniably a sign that Halloween is right around the corner.

            “What’d you get?”

            “Just a regular latté. I can’t drink that crazy seasonal stuff.” Harry lets out a theatrical, fake-offended gasp which makes Zayn laugh again. Is Zayn just a very easy-going person or is Harry particularly funny today? Harry himself isn’t sure. Maybe Zayn just wants get into his pants, just like Harry wants to get into Zayn’s.

            “I’ve been betrayed. Have you even had one?” Harry fakes a sniff and puts a hand over his heart, very dramatic like.

            “I had one at this very place a week ago, from the same barista. I feel a little worried watching you drink it, to be honest.” Harry takes a big gulp then, all while keeping eye contact with Zayn and making those food commercial “mmm” sounds. Zayn almost chokes on his own coffee, he laughs so hard.

            “I am profoundly disgusted,” Zayn declares when he catches his breath.

            “Disgust aside, I don’t even know you. For all I know, you could like those nasty green juices.”

            “Don’t worry, I could never drink those. Tried it two times, to give it the benefit of doubt, but I only did it for my girlfriend, she was really into that,” Harry face falls the second those words leave Zayn’s mouth. Great, he has a girlfriend. Which means he’s most likely straight and definitely not trying to get into Harry’s pants. Harry covers the disappointment on his face with a big grin. Zayn’s still incredibly nice after all, not everyone Harry meets has to end up in bed with him.

            “So, she’s not into it anymore? What made her drop the healthy lifestyle?” Harry questions.

            “Um, nothing. I guess she’s still into it. I wouldn’t know that though, she dumped me a few months ago,” and just like that, Harry’s back in the game. Zayn doesn’t seem sad to be talking about her, so Harry sees it as a green light. Also, who said that Zayn is straight? Assuming that would be just incredibly heteronormative and simple minded.

            “Really? Sorry to hear that,” Harry says because it’s polite. He’s not really sorry. Well, if Zayn was heartbroken and really loved her then of course he means it. Harry’s not a heartless monster just because he finds Zayn incredibly attractive and would probably let Zayn kiss him stupid any second.

            “Nah, it’s fine. Our relationship had an expiration date anyway.”

            “If you don’t mind me asking, why?”

            “We were high school sweethearts but she wanted to leave this quote-unquote ‘godforsaken shitty ass town’ and go to college on the East Coast. I always thought we would’ve broken up sooner if she wasn’t leaving. So really, it’s fine that you ask. Anyways, let’s stop talking about relationships, we had only just met. Tell me something about yourself. Or wait, no, let’s play 20 questions,” Zayn finishes it with a wide smile and Harry forgets about girlfriends and other stuff right away. They may or may not kiss each other stupid, Harry still wants to get to know Zayn.

            “Fine, I’ll start. Do you study here at Oregon State?”

            “Everyone here under the age of 25 does, what kinda question is that?” Zayn shakes his head at Harry, his brows furrowed but still there’s a smile breaking through his lips. Harry just shrugs, too captivated by Zayn to even think off being embarrassed.

            “What’s your major?” Zayn asks.

            “Photography and journalism, you?”

            “Medicine. What is your favourite song at the moment?”

            “Night So Long by HAIM. It’s amazing, you should listen to it. Where are you from?”

            “Here. What-“

            “Hold on a sec, you’re from Corvallis? Like, exactly from this very town?” Harry interrupts Zayn, which makes Zayn roll his eyes and sigh theatrically.

            “Yes, I’ve lived here my entire life. My dad’s a professor at Oregon State, he teaches English lit and my mum’s a doctor. Where do you think I lived? It’s not like I could have a dog in a dorm or a frat house. Now let’s continue, what’s the last movie you saw?” Harry can’t help but shake his head at Zayn, mirroring his gesture from earlier.

            “You’re a menace. It was the new Kingsman movie. Pineapple on a pizza, yes or no?”

            “Of course no, what the hell, Harry? Movies or books?”

            “Depends. What was your first pet?”

            “A hamster named Avril. I lost the fight for naming it with my sister. What are you doing on Halloween next week?”

            “Probably dressing up and going to a frat party. Cats or dogs?” Harry starts to snicker after that question. Zayn just gapes at him, seemingly offended but there’s a glimmer of laughter in his eyes.

            “Leia is going to bite you for that. I plan on going to a frat party as well. Do you wanna go there with me?” All the words leave Harry for almost a minute. It’s like they’ve packed up their metaphorical suitcases and went on a nice long vacation.

            “Like a date? Or?” Harry asks after he finally scrambles up the words together.

            “You can’t answer a question with a question, that’s the rule of the game.”

            “Ugh, fine, yes, I want to go with you. Is it a date?”

            “Could be if you wanted to. What’s your favourite book?”

            “Zayn!” Harry cries out, “you can’t ask me out on a date and then continue as if nothing happened.”

            “So, you want it to be a date then?” Zayn asks with a shy smile. Harry all but melts into a big pile of goo then. Really, he might as well be a big blob on the sidewalk, possibly with animated hearts flying over him.

            “Yes, course I do,” Harry admits and he feels his cheeks heating up. Great, so now he’s blushing like a thirteen-year-old. The blob scenario doesn’t sound so bad now.

            “I’m so glad you want to. Like, really happy about it,” the big, shiny smile is gracing Zayn’s face again and Harry’s honestly in awe. How is he so lucky that someone so beautiful just asked him out?

            A small bark to Harry’s right brings them back from lovingly gazing into each other’s eyes and generally being the people Harry usually rolls his eyes at. They both immediately set their eyes on Leia and give her their full attention. It seems like she’s finally woken up from her nap and is ready to run all around pretty much everywhere again.

            “Sleeping beauty is finally up, hm?” Zayn coos at her and picks her up, the attempt to keep her from running away hidden somewhere in the gesture.

            “How much do you love Star Wars that you named your dog after one of the characters?” Zayn flips him off and Harry starts to laugh before he notices a thin lightsaber tattoo on the side of Zayn’s middle finger. Honestly, he starts laughing even harder.

            “You’re such a nerd.”

            “Shut up, you know who Leia is.”

            “That’s just me keeping up with all the pop culture refences.”

            “Hope you’re not keeping up with the Kardashians.” That makes Harry _guffaw_. A passing by old couples gives them a dirty look, but Harry’s too busy trying not to choke to acknowledge it.

            “God, I hate you! You’re going to make me piss my pants in public,” Harry exclaims once he’s caught his breath. Zayn holds Leia in front of his face and grabs her right paw.

            “I am very, very sorry. Do you need a diaper?” Zayn says in a dumb squeaky voice while gesturing with Leia’s paw.

            “Do not hide your evil intentions behind your dog. She doesn’t deserve this. I’m going to steal her from you.”

            “You wouldn’t.”

            “Oh, I would.”

            “No, you wouldn’t.”

            “No, I guess not. I’m not evil like you.”

            “I’d love to sit here and talk about my evil intentions, but I have to go,” Zayn says with a sigh, putting Leia back down into his lap.

            “Course, you have to get back to your supervillain lair and do supervillain things, I get it. I don’t wanna keep your work waiting.” Zayn just smiles as he sets a leash he took out of his pocket on a table. Then he proceeds to whip out a pen out of another pocket and write his number on a napkin.

            “I really enjoyed today, my dog did too. Don’t let the napkin fly away or let the staff take it while cleaning and throw it away. Text me and we’ll talk about the party next week, yeah?” Zayn is already on his feet, standing by Harry’s chair, Leia rather slowly pacing around and sniffling chair legs.

            “Yeah, I’ll get to you, don’t worry. And I loved today. Can’t wait for next week,” Harry smiles up at Zayn. Then, when Zayn bends down so their face are at the same level, Harry swears his heart misses a beat. _This is it, he’s gonna kiss me stupid. Finally._ Harry closes his eyes in anticipation, expecting a pair of plush warm lips on his but it never comes. Instead Zayn places a small kiss on his cheek and walks away, saying a quiet “Bye, Harry” and leaving a lingering whiff of his cologne, which Harry suddenly wants to drown in.

            Before he can do that, he actually has to go on a date with Zayn. So, before the wind or a dedicated staff member whisks Harry’s chances at love away, he saves Zayn’s phone number in his phone. Of course, he doesn’t do it without adding a dog emoji to Zayn’s name.

;

            To no one’s surprise, Harry spends the next six days fussing over his Halloween costume. Usually he goes all out, putting together costumes that are usually quite inconvenient for parties, but he loves them. Unlike most of his friends, Halloween parties aren’t just about alcohol and hooking up for him. But this time, though, this time he needs to put together his first slutty Halloween costume ever.

            It’s rather sad that men’s options are usually just ‘sexy cop’ or ‘sexy construction worker’, something that Harry absolutely isn’t into. That’s why he had to be creative and crafty.

            The perfect idea had popped into his head while walking to his dorm from class. He had been just casually picking out songs to play when the impeccable costume basically materialized in front of his very eyes. ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ by Pink Floyd. One of Harry’s all-time favourite albums and the concept for the best Halloween outfit for a date. Harry’s going to be, literally, the dark side of the moon.

            Putting it all together was pretty simple – Harry already possessed everything necessary except for glitter and some makeup. Tight black jeans that made his ass look just incredible, sheer black shirt with some ruffle along the buttons and collar, and sparkly black boots. Kat, one of his friends from his photography class, even agreed to help him with the makeup. Harry reckoned the look is irresistible, hot and not as obvious as ‘sexy cop’.

            On Halloween night, Harry’s waiting for Zayn on the pavement near the frat house that’s hosting the party. He’s wearing the outfit, his shirt unbuttoned almost to his navel, black glitter rolled all over his chest and cheekbones. He’s sporting some black glittery smoky eye and black shimmery lipstick, and Kat even painted his nails sparkly black. To be completely honest, he’s afraid he looks a bit like a disco racoon, but Kat has assured him about million times that he looks hot and that Zayn would come in his pants the second he saw Harry. Honestly, Harry doesn’t want that, it’d be just unfortunate. Well, Harry might want to see Zayn coming in his pants but he’d prefer it to be after making out for an hour.

            For the past few days, Harry and Zayn have been texting a bit. Not a lot, because Harry hadn’t wanted to look clingy or annoying. They don’t really know each other, so taking it slow is really only for the best. Harry got a few pics of Leia, a lot of _flirty_ emojis and Zayn didn’t say anything rude when Harry texted him a dumb joke. Zayn’s really nice and Harry was itching to see him again.

            He was hoping they would run into each other on campus or somewhere in town, but that unfortunately didn’t happen. Yes, sure, Harry could’ve gone to the park again to raise his chances but he didn’t want Zayn to think he was a creep. They have a date scheduled anyways. Patience is virtue, or whatever.

            “Hey babe.” Harry would slap himself for how fast he recognized Zayn’s voice, despite talking to him only once. He turns around and faces Zayn, which nearly leads him to a stroke. Sure, everyone’s wearing a costume but Harry truly _wasn’t_ expecting to see Zayn with a skull pained on his face and black contacts that are covering his whole eyes.

            “Jesus, you really wanted to be creepy tonight,” Harry breathes out. It makes Zayn laugh, this enticing sound Harry wants to bathe in. Zayn’s white teeth peeking from behind those off-white painted on his lips settle Harry a bit, a reminder that under all of the paint, there’s still the beautiful boy that seems to occupy most parts of Harry’s mind these days.

            “It’s Halloween, I’m supposed to be creepy, unlike you.”

            “Yeah, well, I didn’t feel like scaring the shit out of you on our first date.”

            “Thanks, that’s really considerate of you.”

            “You’re very much welcome. Now, do you wanna dance or get drunk on Halloween punch?”

            “Probably both, but I wanna do something else first,” Zayn grabs Harry’s hand and pulls him close to himself, making Harry stumble a bit. In the mix of bodies, Harry fails to notice when, but he suddenly feels Zayn holding his hips, their chests pressed together. And then their lips are flush together as well, moving within seconds after the first touch, sliding around the makeup and basically ruining it. Harry couldn’t care less about it though. Ruined makeup or not, he’d very much like to stay precisely like this for an hour or three. With Zayn’s tongue mapping his teeth and meshing with Harry’s own, their body heat posing as a small piece of sunshine just for them to keep them warm on an October night. Zayn’s kissing him stupid and contrary to Kat’s words, Harry may be the one coming in his pants tonight.

            It all ends too soon when Zayn pulls back, both of them nearly breathless but clearly aching for more. Zayn’s pained teeth are completely disfigured, more dark grey than white after being mixed with Harry’s black lipstick. None of it matters in the moment, because Zayn just smiles, his real teeth still flawless, grabs Harry’s hand in his and leads them towards the frat house that’s brimming with people in costumes, getting drunk on nasty punch and dancing to cheesy Halloween songs.

            And really, Harry couldn’t be happier. He’s spending his favourite holiday with an amazing, incredibly nice and remarkably beautiful guy, who just kissed him within an inch of Harry’s life. Halloween is essentially tangible, from the costumes, to the fake skeletons hanging on the porch and _Spooky Scary Skeletons_ remix being played loud enough to hear from the neighbouring street. After all, getting attacked by a vicious Shiba Inu monster was more worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave some feedback, it means a lot to me :)
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr @spookyzarry (Or @imlivingonthewire after Halloween lmao).


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